EVENING SNAPSHOT - Americas Markets Summary

13 November 2012 23:00[Source: ICIS news]

HOUSTON (ICIS)--Here is Tuesday’s end of day Americas oil and chemical market summary from ICIS.

CRUDE: Dec WTI: $85.38/bbl, down 19 cents; Dec Brent: $108.26/bbl, down 81 centsNYMEX WTI crude futures edged lower for the second consecutive session in response to the monthly market report from the International Energy Agency (IEA) trimming global oil demand for the fourth quarter and 2013. Potential budget cuts and tax increases coming due at the end of the year also weighed on the market.

NATURAL GAS: Dec: $3.739/MMBtu, up 16.9 cents. Natural gas futures settled for the day up 4.7% from start of trade on Tuesday, taking the December contract to its highest level since late October, as near-term cooler temperatures generated optimism among traders that this week could see the first significant withdrawal from US gas stocks of the winter heating season.

AROMATICS: toluene flat at $4.15-4.30/gal, mixed xylene flat at $4.00-4.15/galPrompt US n-grade toluene and mixed xylene (MX) activity was quiet during the day. As a result, spot prices were unchanged from the previous session.

OLEFINS: ethylene done lower at 53.25cents/lb, RGP tighter at 50.5 cents/lbUS November ethylene was done at 53.25 cents/lb, lower from the previous week’s lone deal at 55.00 cents/lb, tracking weaker demand. A deal for November refinery-grade propylene (RGP) was done at 50.500 cents/lb, compared with deals the previous week between 50.000-50.625 cents/lb.